Quake-prone Japan was rocked again by another strong temblor on Saturday night. The magnitude 6.8 tremor caused 10 homes in a ski resort city and caused injury to over 20 people.

The Japan Meteorological Agency identified the epicenter of the earthquake near Nagano with a depth of 6 miles. However, the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's magnitude was 6.2, reports Associated Press. It was felt in large parts of northern Japan and Tokyo.

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There were 21 aftershocks, but since the earthquake was inland, there is no possibility of a tsunami.

According to Kyodo news agency, 15 of the injured were sent to a public hospital in Omachi, while six more were hurt in Nagano City and the Hakuba ski resort, venue of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. Three of the 15 in Omachi have serious injuries.

The 10 collapsed homes are in Hakuba, where nine people were trapped underneath but have been rescued and suffered no major injuries, disaster management officials said. Besides damaged homes, the tremor caused pipes to rupture, a temporary disruption to the bullet train service, blocked roads due to landslides on two major roads and power outages that affected 1,600 homes in Hakuba and Omachi.

With all of the country's nuclear plants offline since the magnitude 9 temblor shook Japan on March 11, 2011, and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said there are no abnormalities at three nuclear facilities in the affected regions.

Yoshihida Suga, spokesman of the Japanese government, told media, "We are trying to assess the situation as quickly as possible, and we'll do our utmost for the rescue of the injured people."

Also on Saturday afternoon, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck western China, killing at least four people and hurting scores of others.

The U.S. Geological Service measured the tremor at 5.9 magnitude with a depth of nine miles, but the Chinese seismological agency measures the quake at magnitude 6.3.

The fatalities included an elderly woman who was struck by a falling window pane, Xinhua News reported.

Around 42 children from a primary school in Tagong town were injured during a stampede at the height of the quake, Xinhua added.

The public information office of Sichuan said 30 homes had collapsed and 2,630 sustained serious damage.

The same area was hit by a magnitude 7.9 quake in 2008 that killed almost 90,000 people.

Tagsearthquake, nagano, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Sichuan Earthquake